Hatch cover securing means for railway cars



E. S STEVENS HATCH COVER SECURING MEANS FOR RAILWAY CARS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 18, 1966 X///// /l////.A

63 FIG. 3.

INVENTOR. ERIC 8. STEVENS BY 6: 7 ma ATTORNEY March 7, .1967 s. STEVENS HATCH COVER SECURING MEANS FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed April 18, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent f 3,307,498 HATCH COVER SECURING MEANS FOR RAILWAY CARS Eric S. Stevens, St. Charles, Mo., assignor to ACF Industries, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Apr. 18, 1966, Ser. No. 543,103 2 Claims. (Cl. 105-377) This invention relates to a hatch cover securing means for covered hopper railway cars and more particularly to a self locking cam lever which is pivoted manually between locked and unlocked positions. This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application Serial No. 411,530, filed November 16, 1964, now abandoned.

The present invention is directed to a manual locking lever for securing a hatch cover, the lever being positioned adjacent a strap over the hatch cover and easily pivoted between locked and unlocked positions relative to the strap. The strap has an outwardly opening recess receiving a swing bolt on which the cam lever is mounted and a cam lug extends laterally outwardly from each side of the cam lever to provide a cam surface for engaging the adjacent strap surface as the cam lever pivots between locked and unlocked positions. The recess is of sufiicient width to receive the main body portion of the cam lever and only the laterally extending cam lugs engage the strap as the cam lever moves between locked and unlocked positions. If the strap is resilient or is urged upwardly by a torsion spring or the like, an upwardly directed force is exerted by the strap against the lugs when the cam lever is being unlocked. As only the lugs are in engagement with the strap, a leverage is exerted about the pivotal axis of the cam lever and the cam lever snaps to an unlocked position under the bias of the strap after an initial pivoting of the lever. To insure that each strap is secured with substantially the same locking force or pressure, the locking lever is adapted for adjustment at a predetermined position on the swing bolt when the locking lever is initially placed on a railway car thereby to accommodate straps having varying tolerances and resiliencies.

It is an object of this invention to provide locking means for securing a hatch cover structure which locking means is aided in unlocking by the hatch cover structure.

A further object of this invention is the provision of such a locking means for securing a hatch cover structure which locking means has cam surfaces generally in frictional line contact with an extension from the hatch cover when the locking means is moved between locked and unlocked positions relative to the hatch cover.

The invention accordingly comprises the constructions hereinafter described, the scope of the invention being indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one of various possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a railway car having a hatch cover structure secured by the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial sectional view of the hatch cover structure illustrated in FIGURE 1 and showing the securing means of the present invention in locked position engaging a strap for holding the cover in secured position;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the securing means in an unlocked position supported on the roof of the railway car;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side elevation similar to FIGURE 3 but showing the securing means in an intermediate unlocked position adapted for pivotal movement to a locked position;

3,307,498 Patented Mar. 7, 1967 FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side elevation similar to FIGURES 3 and 4 but showing the securing means in a locked position;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan of FIGURE 3 illustrating a slot for receiving the swing bolt;

FIGURE 7 is a section taken generally along line 77 of FIGURE 4 and showing means for adjusting the lever on the swing bolt at a predetermined position; and

FIGURE 8 is a side elevation similar to FIGURE 4 but showing the strap in an uppermost position and urging the cam lever about its pivotal axis.

Corresponding reference characters indicate correspending parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring to FIGURE 1, a railway covered hopper car as indicated generally at 10 and includes a truck 12 at each end thereof. Roof 14 of car 10 has an elongate opening 16 extending along the length thereof. A running board 18 is mounted on roof 14 on each side of opening 16 so that workmen may easily walk therealong.

Referring to FIGURE 2, hatch opening 16 has a hatch ring 19 extending around the periphery thereof. A corrugated hatch cover 20 has a transverse stiifener 22 secured thereto, such as by spot welding. A strap or arm generally designated 24 is pivotally mounted at 26 about a bracket 28 and is spaced from cover 20 by spacer block 32. Securing cover 20 to strap 24 for movement therewith is a bolt 30 extending through stiifener 22, spacer block 32, and strap 24. A nut 34 secures bolt 30 in position.

Welded to each stiffener 22 is a stud 36 extending through an elongate slot 38 in strap 24. A nut 40 on stud 36 bears against a washer 41 on the upper surface of strap 24. Strap 24 in secured position as shown in FIGURE 2 is urged downwardly away from engagement with nut 40. When strap 24 is unlocked, the strap is urged against washer 41 and nut 40. The free extending end of strap 24 is bent downwardly at 42 to form a recessed end portion 44. End portion 44 has an outwardly opening slot 45 facing in a direction generally along the longitudinal axis of railway car 10.

To hold strap 24 and hatch cover 20 in secured position and forming this invention, a cam-type locking lever generally indicated 46 is carried by a swing bolt 48 threaded on its free end. The lower end of swing bolt 48 is pivoted about bolt 50 mounted on lugs 52 secured to roof 14. Locking lever 46 comprises an elongate handle 54 bifurcated adjacent one end to form spaced arms 56 receiving bolt 48. A cam lug 60 projects laterally outwardly from each arm 56 to provide a relatively small surface area contacting strap 24 for locking lever 46 against strap 24 in locked position.

Mounting lever 46 for pivotal movement relative to swing bolt 48 is a pivot pin 62 having an internally threaded bore or opening 64 extending generally at right angles to the longitudinal axis of pin 62 and receiving threaded swing bolt 48 as shown in FIGURE 7. Pin 62 fits through suitable openings in arms 56 and lever 46 may be pivoted relative to pin 62. Slot 45 is of a width greater than the outer extent of arms 56 and the length of pivot pin 62 asshown in FIGURES 2, 6, and 7 thereby to receive arms 56 and leave only lugs 60 in contact with a relatively small surface area of strap 24.

Referring to FIGURE 2, locking lever 46 in locked position fits within the recess formed by end portion 44 below the clearance for the hatch cover structure indicated by line C. Thus, the clearance of railway car 10 is not determined or restricted by locking lever 46.

To adjust locking lever 46 for strap 24 of varying resiliencies and varying tolerances, pivot pin 62 with looking lever 46 are initially threaded on swing bolt 48 until a selected position on swing bolt 48 is determined. Then, pivot pin 62 is spot welded at 66 to swing bolt 48. In this manner, sufiicient bias from strap 24 is exerted against lever 46 to hold the lever in locked position without the provision of any additional securing means.

As shown in FIGURE 4, a lug 60 projects from each arm 56 and lies in a plane with the axis of pin 62 which is greater than forty-five degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of swing bolt 48 in the open position of lever 46. The bias of strap 24 exerted against cam lugs 60 aids in pivoting lever 46 to an upward position as arms 56 are received within slot 45.

To secure strap 24 from the unlocked position of FIG- URE 3, handle 54 is gripped and lifted to the position of FIGURE 4 with bolt 48 being received in slot 45. Then, lever 46 is pivoted to the position of FIGURE 5 about pivot pin 62. Cam lugs 60 engage strap 24 and pass dead center position with respect to the pivots formed by pivot pin 62 and bolt 50 as shown in FIGURE 5 in locked position. Thus, the bias of resilient strap 24 adjacent lugs 60 urges lever 46 to a locked position and no additional securing means is required in order to hold lever 46 in locked position.

When lever 46 is moved from the position of FIGURE 4 to the locked position of FIGURE 5, lugs 60 contact strap 24 and pass a dead center osition with respect to the pivots formed by pivot pin 62 and bolt 48 when moved to the locked position shown in FIGURE 5. The bias of strap 24 against lugs 60 continuously urges lever 46 toward a locked position after lever 46 reaches its locked position.

If lever 46 is fully positioned with swing bolt 48 in engagement with the edge defining the end portion of slot 45, the lower surfaces of arms 56 may engage strap 24 initially but will tend to move bolt 45 outwardly away from the end portion of slot 45. Lugs 60 then engage strap 24 in substantially a line contact with lever 46 easily moving between open and closed positions. It is apparent from FIGURES 4 and 5 that upon movement of lever 46 from a locked position to an unlocked position, a relatively large leverage is obtained by strap 24 acting against lugs 60 thereby aiding in the pivoting of lever 46 to the unlocked position shown in FIGURE 4.

While strap 24 is shown in FIGURE 4 in its normal position as spaced from lever 46, under some conditions of use, such as when employed on a hatch cover having torsion springs continuously urging the cover to open position, strap 24 might be in engagement with lugs 60 until swing bolt 48 is removed from slot 45'. In this instant, lugs 60 would still be in contact with strap 44 to further rotate lever 46 in a counterclockwise direction from the position of FIGURE 4 thereby permitting strap 24 to move vertically an additional amount as shown in FIGURE 8 of the drawings. This permits lever 46 to be withdrawn from slot 45 and moved to the position of FIGURES 3 and 6 with a minimum of frictional contact between strap 24 and lugs 60.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results obtained.

As various changes could be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A hatch cover structure for a railway hopper car comprising, a hatch cover adapted to be positioned over a hatch opening on the car and movable between open and closed positions relative to the opening, a resilient generally fiat hold-down strap over the hatch cover having one end mounted on the car for pivotal movement adjacent one side of the hatch cover and an opposite free end adjacent the opposite side of the hatch cover having an open slot therein, means connecting the hatch cover to said strap for pivotal movement therewith, a swing bolt mounted beneath the projecting end of the strap for pivotal movement about a generally horizontal axis, a generally horizontally extending pin secured to said swing bolt adjacent an end thereof, and an elongate cam lever having a pair of integral bifurcated arms on an end thereof pivotally mounted on said pin and adapted to engage the upper surface of the strap upon movement of the swing bolt within the slot, said bifurcated arms being of a total width less than the width of said slot and adapted to be received within said slot when the cam lever is in an operable position, a cam lug projecting laterally outwardly from each arm and adapted to engage the upper flat surface of the strap adjacent the side of the slot upon pivotal movement of the lever between locked and unlocked positions with the bifurcated arms being received within said slot, said lugs when the lever is pivoted about said pin to an unlocked position being moved along the flat upper surface of the strap to a plane with the pivotal axis of the lever which lies at an angle greater than forty-five degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the swing bolt whereby a relatively large leverage may be obtained upon contact of the lugs with the strap as the lever pivots to an unlocked position, said lever being pivoted to a locked position about said pin in which its longitudinal axis extends generally in a horizontal direction and the cam lugs engage and move along the upper flat surface of the strap to a position beyond a dead center position with respect to the pivots on the swing bolt whereby said handle is urged downwardly by the resilient strap acting against the cam lugs, an upward movement of the lever from its locked position returning the cam lugs in a sliding movement along the upper surface of the strap past their dead center position with the lever being urged to unlocked position about its pivotal axis by the resilient strap acting against said cam lugs, said strap being released upon swinging of the swing bolt out of the slot thereby to permit opening of the hatch cover.

2. A hatch cover structure for a railway hopper car as set forth in claim 1 wherein said swing bolt is threaded adjacent its extending free end and said pin has an internally threaded bore extending generally at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said pin and threaded on said free end at a predetermined position thereby to position said cam lever.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,745,362 5/1956 Lunde 377 2,901,279 8/1959 MacNaught et al. 292-256.5 3,119,636 1/1964 Kummerman 292-2565 3,228,353 1/1966 Carney 105-377 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,169,803 5/1964 Germany.

246,981 2/1926 Great Britain.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

DRAYTON E. HOFFMAN, Examiner, 

1. A HATCH COVER STRUCTURE FOR A RAILWAY HOPPER CAR COMPRISING, A HATCH COVER ADAPTED TO BE POSITIONED OVER A HATCH OPENING ON THE CAR AND MOVABLE BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS RELATIVE TO THE OPENING, A RESILIENT GENERALLY FLAT HOLD-DOWN STRAP OVER THE HATCH COVER HAVING ONE END MOUNTED ON THE CAR FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ADJACENT ONE SIDE OF THE HATCH COVER AND AN OPPOSITE FREE END ADJACENT THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE HATCH COVER HAVING AN OPEN SLOT THEREIN, MEANS CONNECTING THE HATCH COVER TO SAID STRAP FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT THEREWITH, A SWING BOLT MOUNTED BENEATH THE PROJECTING END OF THE STRAP FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL AXIS, A GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING PIN SECURED TO SAID SWING BOLT ADJACENT AN END THEREOF, AND AN ELONGATE CAM LEVER HAVING A PAIR OF INTEGRAL BIFURCATED ARMS ON AN END THEREOF PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID PIN AND ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE STRAP UPON MOVEMENT OF THE SWING BOLT WITHIN THE SLOT, SAID BIFURCATED ARMS ON BEING OF A TOTAL WIDTH LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF SAID SLOT AND ADAPTED TO BE RECEIVED WITHIN SAID SLOT WHEN THE CAM LEVER IS IN AN OPERABLE POSITION, A CAM LUG PROJECTING LATERALLY OUTWARDLY FROM EACH ARM AND ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE UPPER FLAT SURFACE OF THE STRAP ADJACENT THE SIDE OF THE SLOT UPON PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF THE LEVER BETWEEN LOCKED AND UNLOCKED POSITIONS WITH THE BIFURCATED ARMS BEING RECEIVED WITHIN SAID SLOT, SAID LUGS WHEN THE LEVER IS PIVOTED ABOUT SAID PIN TO AN UNLOCKED POSITION BEING MOVED ALONG THE FLAT UPPER SURFACE OF THE STRAP TO A PLANE WITH THE PIVOTAL AXIS OF THE LEVER WHICH LIES AT AN ANGLE GREATER THAN FORTY-FIVE DEGREES WITH RESPECT TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE SWING BOLT WHEREBY A RELATIVELY LARGE LEVERAGE MAY BE OBTAINED UPON CONTACT OF THE LUGS WITH THE STRAP AS THE LEVER PIVOTS TO AN UNLOCKED POSITION, SAID LEVER BEING PIVOTED TO A LOCKED POSITION ABOUT SAID PIN IN WHICH ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS EXTENDS GENERALLY IN A HORIZONTAL DIRECTION AND THE CAM LUGS ENGAGE AND MOVE ALONG THE UPPER FLAT SURFACE OF THE STRAP TO A POSITION BEYOND A DEAD CENTER POSITION WITH RESPECT TO THE PIVOTS ON THE SWING BOLT WHEREBY SAID HANDLE IS URGED DOWNWARDLY BY THE RESILIENT STRAP ACTING AGAINST THE CAM LUGS, AN UPWARD MOVEMENT OF THE LEVER FROM ITS LOCKED POSITION RETURNING THE CAM LUGS IN A SLIDING MOVEMENT ALONG THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE STRAP PAST THEIR DEAD CENTER POSITION WITH THE LEVER BEING URGED TO UNLOCKED POSITION ABOUT ITS PIVOTAL AXIS BY THE RESILIENT STRAP ACTING AGAINST SAID CAM LUGS, SAID STRAP BEING RELEASED UPON SWINGING OF THE SWING BOLT OUT OF THE SLOT THEREBY TO PERMIT OPENING OF THE HATCH COVER. 